Side boom pipe laying machine

ABSTRACT

In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a mobile article handling vehicle adapted for off-theroad operations such as pipe laying in the most rugged types of terrain includes a light weight vehicle unit with ground engaging tires of great ground bearing area, a rotatable, upright mast on the unit, a tiltable boom with its inner end pivoted to the upper end of the mast, a hoist structure movable longitudinally along the boom between selected stations, and a supporting leg pivoted to the outer end of the boom and rotatable between a supporting position where the lower end thereof engages the ground to provide vertical support, and a traveling position substantially parallel to and above the boom.

United States Patent [19] Holland, Sr.

[451 Nov. 19, 1974 SIDE BOOM PIPE LAYING MACI-IINE [76] Inventor: JohnG. Holland, Sr., 648 Rocky River, Houston, Tex. 77027 [22] Filed: Jan.16, 1973 [21] Appl. N0.: 324,194

[52] US. Cl 212/145, 212/56, 214/75 H [51] Int. Cl. B66c 23/78 [58]Field of Search 212/56, 59 R, 63, 145; 214/75 H [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 3,076,559 2/1963 Crile 212/59 3,082,889 3/1963Bopp r r 214/75 3,298,539 1/1967 Sundstrom 212/30 3,366,250 1/1968 Grove212/59 3,417,882 12/1968 McConnell 198/113 3,691,943 9/1972 Boyd 214/75Primary Examiner-Richard A. Schacher Assistant Examiner-Jeffrey V. NaseAttorney, Agent, or Firm-David L. Moseley [57] ABSTRACT In accordancewith an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a mobilearticle handling vehicle adapted for off-the-road operations such aspipe laying in the most rugged types of terrain includes a light weightvehicle unit with ground engaging tires of great ground bearing area, arotatable, upright mast on the unit, a tiltable boom with its inner endpivoted to the upper end of the mast, a hoist structure movablelongitudinally along the boom between selected stations, and asupporting leg pivoted to the outer end of the boom and rotatablebetween a supporting position where the lower end thereof engages theground to provide vertical support, and a traveling positionsubstantially parallel to and above the boom.

11 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEL 258V I 9|974 SHEET 30F 3 SIDE BOOMPIPE LAYING MACHINE This invention relates generally to a mobilehoisting device, and more particularly to a new and improved boom-typehoisting or loading vehicle adapted for offthe-road constructionoperations such as pipe laying or the like.

In the prior art, a typical machine that has been used in pipe layingoperations is the so-called side boom tractor having an A-frame or othermast pivoted to one side and with the top guyed by cables. The winchworks together with extremely heavy counter balance weights are placedon the other side of the tractor to maintain it in a stable condition asloads are being handled. These machines although widely used have anumber of significant disadvantages. For example, the vehicle isrequired to carry the additional load of the weights, making it quiteheavy and unwieldly and difficult to use in unfavorable terrain such asmarsh and swamp. Moreover, other equipment is sometimes required to addor remove weights to adjust for various load conditions. Many othertypes of boom and truss arrangements have been used as static structuresin the building and construction trades, however, these devices are notmobile and are massive and are thus not suitable in concept foroff-the-road operations.

It is the leading object of this invention to provide a new andimproved, mobile material handling and hoisting machine that does notrequire heavy counterweights for stability, and is arranged andparticularly adapted for off-the-road usage such as pipe laying or thelike in the most rugged terrain conditions. This and other objects areattained in accordance with the concepts of the present inventionthrough the provision of a vehicle unit including a frame having groundengaging means such as low pressure pneumatic tires or the like havinggreat ground bearing areas that enable mobility even in the most ruggedand marshy terrain, and a boom structure having one end pivoted to theupper end of an upright, rotatable mast mounted on a deck that isattached to the frame. A hoist arranged for handling a load is suspendedfrom a carriage assembly that is movable longitudinally along the boomand can be positioned and fixed at any selected location within itsrange of travel thereon. The carriage assembly also includes means thatenable limited movement of the hoist at right angles to the boomstructure. The outer end of the boom is provided with a support meanssuch as a leg having its upper end pivotally attached thereto andadapted to be placed in a working position where the lower end thereofengages the ground with a shoe area sufficient to provide verticalsupport for the outermost end of the boom. The support also can bedisposed in a traveling position substantially parallel to and above theboom, out of the way of the carriage assembly and hoist which aremovable along the boom. With the support in the traveling position theboom can be aligned with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle unit whenmoving between operating locations, and the boom structure can be tiltedupwardly for handling certain loads, as well as for loading articlesonto, or unloading articles from, the deck of the vehicle unit itself.

The present invention has other objects and advantages which will becomemore clearly apparent in connection with the following detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat schematic view of the over-all configuration of thevehicle and the boom structure shown in the traveling position;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the vehicle with the boom structure positionedto the side in working conditions;

FIG. 3 is a front view similar to FIG. 2 to illustrate the vehicle inuse for pipe laying operations;

FIG. 4 is a side view with enlarged detail of the various structuralcomponents of the side boom structure;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the side boom structure; FIG. 6 is a crosssection on line 66 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a cross section on line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a vehicle that is constructed inaccordance with the principles of the present invention is shown asincluding a front unit 10 having a frame 11 that carries an engine 12and an operators station 13. Transmission 14 couples the output of theengine 12 to the input of a typical transfer case 15 having two outputslocated at the level of the frame 11, the forward output being coupledby a drive shaft 16 to the differential and axle housing 17 for thefront wheels 18, and the other output pointing toward the rear. Thefront wheels 18 may be of any suitable type, but preferably are lowpressure pneumatic tires of the type shown in the Albee U.S. Pat. No.24,272.

A rear unit 20 is coupled in tandem with the front unit 10 by means ofan articulative coupling assembly indicated generally at 21. Thecoupling assembly may be of the type disclosed and claimed in my U.S.Pat. No. 3,630,302 to provide for articulation of the front and rearunits about orthogonal axes, however as shown here the coupling assemblyincludes upper and lower forks 22 and 23 on a plate 24 that defines therear of the front frame 11. Tongues 25 and 26 are connected to therespective forks by king pins 27 and 28, the pins being aligned on avertical steering axis. The tongues 25 and 26 are welded to a transverseplate assembly 29 that has outwardly and forwardly extending arms 30 and31 (FIG. 2), the arms being connected to hydraulic cylinders 32 and 33which are in turn connected to appropriate brackets 34 on the sides ofthe front frame 11. The cylinders 32 and 33 can be hydraulicallyactuated in a conventional manner to cause the front unit 10 to swinglaterally relative to the rear unit 20 in order to effect steering ofthe vehicle.

The rear unit 20 includes a frame 38 having the plate assembly 29 at itsfront end, the frame having spaced differential and axle housings 39 and40 attached thereto by any suitable means. Each axle housing supportstires 41 and 42 of the same general type as the front tires 18, thetires being driven from the rearwardly pointing output of the transfercase 15 by means of drive shafts 43 and 44 and appropriate universaljoints so that all six wheels of the vehicle are driven. For furtherstructural details of the drive train, reference may be had to mayaforementioned Pat. No. 3,630,302. Preferably, a tire loading system isincorporated into the rear unit 20 as described'and claimed in mycopending application Ser. No. 148,585, filed June 1, 1971. The system,which includes a series of spaced apart rollers located underneath eachof the four corner portions of the deck 48 of the vehicle unit 20 (onlyone series of rollers being shown in fragmentary section in FIG. 2 forpurpose of simplicity), includes separate pairs of rollers 36 and 37that are mounted on shafts 44 and 45 located above the tires 41 and 42and to either side of the vertical plane containing the center line oftire. The shafts 44 and 45 can have their ends connected to verticallyarranged guides that cooperate with companion channels to give theroller units the capability for vertical movement into and out ofengagement with wear pads 46 and 47 on a respective tire. Verticalmovement can be accomplished, for example, through use of hydraulic rams(not shown) coupled between the shafts 44 and 45 and the underside ofthe deck 48. When engaged, the rollers transfer load directly from thedeck 48 to the tires to relieve stress in the axles upon which the tiresare mounted and thereby significantly increase the load carryingcapacity of the rear vehicle unit. Of course, the rollers could bedriven from the output of the transfer case to effect a top roller drivefor the rear tires 41 and 42, and can be utilized for braking thevehicle also. However, a typical use is in the load transferring mode ofoperation as discussed above.

The deck 48 is structurally mounted and horizontally arranged on therear frame 38 by any suitable means, for example, transverse pivot pinson the front and a turnbuckle coupling on the rear to enable operationof the tire loading system. If the loading system is not used, of coursethe deck 48 would be rigidly connected to the frame 38. The deck 48 isprovided with hydraulic stabilizer cylinders 49 and 50 that are fixed toeither side thereof by appropriate means. The cylinders 49 and 50 (FIG.3) have extensible and retractable rods 51 with ground engaging feet 52that function when extended to provide lateral support and stability forthe deck 48. Of course when the vehicle is conditioned for traveling,the rods are retracted as shown in FIG. 1. The deck 48 carries acircular turret plate 53 that is appropriately mounted to be rotated tovarious angular dispositions by suitable means such as a drive pinion 54that meshes with a ring gear 55 on the turret plate as shown in FIG. 3,the pinion being selectively operated by a reversible hydraulic motor orthe like (not shown). The turret plate 53 carries an upright mastassembly 57 having spaced apart side members 58 with their lower endsrigidly fixed to the plate 53. The inner end of a side extending trussor boom assembly 59 is pivoted to the upper end of the mast 57 by anelongated pivot pin 60 Although several structural methods can bereadily visualized by those skilled in the art for effecting verticaltilting of the boom assembly 59 about the pivot pin 60, one manner asshown in FIG. 1 includes providing the upper end portion 61 of each sidemember of the mast 57 with a bent or outwardly deflected configuration,and positioning hydraulic cylinders 62 each having one end pivoted to across pin 63 on the boom 59 and its opposite end pivoted to a cross pin64 on the mast S7. Inasmuch as the lateral spacing between the pins 63and 60 provides a moment arm, it will be appreciated that extension andretraction of the cylinders 62 will respectively raise and lower theouter end of the boom assembly 59 as desired. The cylinders 62 arecoupled by hydraulic lines (not shown) to a suitable pump and hydrauliccircuit that can be operated from a control panel 66 located forconvenience directly to the rear of the operations station 13 on thefront vehicle unit 10.

The boom assembly 59 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 has main structuralmembers 68 and 69, for example I beams, that are spaced apart andconnected together by suitable cross bracing 70 and 70'. To lend furtherrigidity, truss members 71 are welded near the ends in the members 68and 69 and extend upwardly at low inclination to an apex 72 near thecenter of the boom. The members 68 and 71 are further joined at spacedpoints by vertical and diagonal braces 73 and 74.

The outer end of the boom assembly 59 has pivotally attached thereto anoutrigger support or leg 75 having structural side members 76 and 77with a support foot or plate 78 disposed at their lower ends. Thesupport 75 is pivoted by means of a shaft 79 and can be rotated throughan angle of about 270 between a working position as shown in FIG. 4where the foot plate 78 can rest upon the ground, and a travelingposition as shown in FIG. 1 wherein the support is positioned on top ofthe boom assembly 59. When in the working position a stop 80 locates thesupport at approximate right angles to the boom assembly 59. Rotation ofthe support 75 is accomplished through use of a conventional hydraulicrotator 81 that is fixed to the boom assembly 59 and is arranged todrive the shaft 79 which is rigidly secured to the support 75. Hereagain the rotator 81 is coupled by a hydraulic circuit (not shown) tothe control panel 66 in order to provide for convenient actuationthereto on a selective basis.

A hoisting device indicated generally at 85 in FIG. 4 can be positionedat various stations along the boom assembly 59, and preferably compriseda compound carriage system including a upper carriage assembly 86 thatis movable along the boom and a lower carriage assembly 87 that ismovable at right angles to the boom. The upper carriage assembly 86 maybe constituted by a plate 88 that is welded or otherwise secured to endflanges 89 and 90 (FIG. 6) having upwardly extending hanger brackets 91that journal the respective shafts of rollers 92 and 93 that ride on theoutwardly extending lips 94 and 95 of the beams 68 and 69. A bracket 96(FIG. 4) is also provided on the side of the plate 88 and is coupled bya pin 97 to the outer end of a hydraulic cylinder or ram 98 that has itsinner end pinned to a bracket 99 on a cross piece 100 at the inner endof the boom 59. Preferably the cylinder 98 has a compound arrangement ofpistons 101 and 102 that are telescopically disposed one within theother so that the cylinder when completely retracted occupies a smalldimension compared to its length when fully extended. Of course thecylinder 98 also is connected by a suitable hydraulic circuit to theaforementioned control panel 66 so that the operator can readilyposition the hoisting device 85 along the boom 59 at any desiredstation.

As previously mentioned, the lower carriage assembly 87 is suspendedfrom the upper carriage assembly 86 and includes a channel member 104 asshown in FIG. 7 whose upwardly extending sides 105 and 106 carry theshafts or rollers 107 and 108 so that the rollers can ride on theoutwardly extending lips 109 of a beam 110 that is rigidly secured bywelding or the like to the lower face of the plate 88 of the uppercarriage assembly 86. The lower carriage assembly 87 can be positionedtransversely to the boom 59 by a hydraulic motor 11 1 (FIG. 6) havingits piston 112 coupled to the channel member 104 at 113 and its cylindersuitably fixed to a lower portion 114 of the end flange 89. Hereagainthe cylinder 111 is suitably coupled by hydraulic circuit to the controlpanel 66 so that actuation thereof functions to move the lower carriageassembly within limits transversely to the boom assembly 59.

The lower carriage 87 includes a winch 115 that is suitably driven by ahydraulically operated motor 116, the winch carrying a cable 117 thatsuspends a hook 118 together with a pipe sling 119 or the like. Thespool 120 of the winch 115 is mounted on a driven shaft 121 that iscoupled through typical gearing to the output of the motor 116. Ofcourse the motor 116 is a reversible device with the hydraulic lines 122extending to the op erators control panel 66 so that the winch can beutilized to raise and lower the hook 118. Of course although a pipesling 119 is shown, it will be appreciated that any of the variousimpliments useful in handling materials may be connected to the cabledepending upon the use being made of the vehicle.

In operation, the vehicle is conditioned for traveling by actuating thehydraulic rotator 81 to fold the outrigger support 75 to a position ontop of the boom 59, whereupon the turret plate is rotated until the boomis aligned with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 1.A standard 130 fixed to the deck 48 of the rear unit 20 can be used tosupport the boom 59 with the mast cylinders 62 retracted. In the workingposition, on the other hand, the boom assembly 59 is disposed in theside position and the support is pivoted against the stop so that thefoot 78 can rest upon the ground as shown in FIG. 8. The hoisting devicecan be positioned where needed along the boom assembly 59, and thehydraulic hoisting winch is operated to raise, lower and otherwisehandle a load such as the pipe line 126 which is being laid in a trench127. Where fore and aft positioning is necessary in order to make uppipe joints for welding or the like, the transverse cylinder 1 11 can beoperated to appropriately position the lower carriage assembly 87.

The present invention is also adapted for loading or unloading materialson the deck 48 inasmuch as it will be appreciated that the boom 59 canbe tilted upwardly to various angular positions with respect to the mast57, and of course the turret plate 53 can be rotated as desired. Thecylinders 49 and 50 can be used to stabilize the deck 48 when the boom59 is used in the tilted condition. The cable spool can be located alongthe boom by extending or retracting the cylinder 98 to correspondinglyposition the hoist 85, and can be fixed in any desired position byhydraulically locking the cylinder. Thus it will be apparent that thepresent invention has a variety of uses in connection with generalhoisting operations, and is quite versatile in application.

The provision of the pivoted outrigger support 75 that can rest on theground during working conditions and thus support the outer end of theboom assembly 59, obviates the need for using guy lines and heavycounter-weights as in the prior art, with attendant advantages asdiscussed above. Moreover, the fact that the support 75 can bepositioned on top of the boom assembly 59 expedites use of the boom in atilted condition, since the support will not interfere with thelongitudinal position of the carriage assemblies and is otherwise out ofthe way of the articles being handled or loaded. The vehicle is highlymobile and adapted for operation in off-the-road conditions of almostany type of terrain.

Certain changes or modifications may be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope of the present invention. For example,and not by way of limitation, the outrigger support may be made to beadjustable in length so as to accommodate different ground elevationswith the boom still level. Also, although hydraulic cylinders have beenshown as a mode for positioning the carriage assemblies, it will beappreciated that systems of cables and pulleys could be used toaccomplish the same purpose. Thus it is the aim of the appended claimsto cover all such changes and modifications following within the truespirit and scope of the present invention.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for use in off-the-road hoisting operations, comprising: avehicle unit having ground engaging means; an upright mast on said unit;boom means having one end pivotably attached to the said mast; hoistmeans movable longitudinally along said boom means and adapted forhandling a load; support means pivotally attached to the other end ofsaid boom means, said support means being adapted for pivotal rotationbetween a supporting position at right angles to said boom means wherethe lower end of said support means rests on the ground and providesvertical support, and a traveling position substantially parallel to andabove said boom means; and selectively operable motor means forpivotally rotating said support means between said supporting positionand said traveling position.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further including means for tilting saidboom means to various angles of inclination with respect to horizontal.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said hoist means includes an uppercarriage assembly and a lower carriage assembly, said lower carriageassembly being movable transversely of said boom means.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 further including first selectively operablemotor means for moving said hoist means longitudinally of said boommeans and second selectively operable motor means for moving said secondcarriage means transversely of said boom means.

5. Apparatus for use in off-the-road hoisting operations, comprising: amobile vehicle unit having ground engaging means; an upright mast onsaid unit; elongated boom means having one end pivoted to the upper endof said mast; means for rotating said mast and said boom means about avertical axis to enable said boom means to be selectively disposed in aworking position extending to the side of said unit and a travelingposition aligned with the longitudinal axis of said unit; carriage meanssuspending an article handling device and being movable longitudinallyalong said boom means; support means pivoted to the other end of saidboom means and adapted for pivotal rotation between a supportingposition at right angles to said boom means where the lower end of saidsupport means rests on the ground and provides vertical support, and atraveling position substantially parallel to and above said boom means;and selectively operable motor means for rotating said support meansbetween said supporting position and said traveling position.

6. The apparatus of claim further including means for tilting said boommeans to various angles of inclination with respect to horizontal.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said selectively operable meansincludes a hydraulic rotator fixed to said boom means and coupled tosaid support means.

for moving said second carriage transversely of said upper carriage andsaid boom means.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said first motor means includes ahydraulic cylinder having one end coupled to said carriage means and itsother end coupled adjacent to said one end of said boom means, and saidsecond motor means includes a hydraulic cylinder having one end coupledto said lower carriage and its other end coupled to said upper carriage.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 further including first roller and trackmeans for suspending said upper carriage underneath said boom means, andsecond roller and track means for suspending said lower carriageunderneath said upper carriage.

1. Apparatus for use in off-the-road hoisting operations, comprising: avehicle unit having ground engaging means; an upright mast on said unit;boom means having one end pivotably attached to the said mast; hoistmeans movable longitudinally along said boom means and adapted forhandling a load; support means pivotally attached to the other end ofsaid boom means, said support means being adapted for pivotal rotationbetween a supporting position at right angles to said boom means wherethe lower end of said support means rests on the ground and providesvertical support, and a traveling position substantially parallel to andabove said boom means; and selectively operable motor means forpivotally rotating said support means between said supporting positionand said traveling position.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 furtherincluding means for tilting said boom means to various angles ofinclination with respect to horizontal.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1wherein said hoist means includes an upper carriage assembly and a lowercarriage assembly, said lower carriage assembly being movabletransversely of said boom means.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 furtherincluding first selectively operable motor means for moving said hoistmeans longitudinally of said boom means and second selectively operablemotor means for moving said second carriage means transversely of saidboom means.
 5. Apparatus for use in off-the-road hoisting operations,comprising: a mobile vehicle unit having ground engaging means; anupright mast on said unit; elongated boom means having one end pivotedto the upper end of said mast; means for rotating said mast and saidboom means about a vertical axis to enable said boom means to beselectively disposed in a working position extending to the side of saidunit and a traveling position aligned with the longitudinal axis of saidunit; carriage means suspending an article handling device and beingmovable longitudinally along said boom means; support means pivoted tothe other end of said boom means and adapted for pivotal rotationbetween a supporting position at right angles to said boom means wherethe lower end of said support means rests on the ground and providesvertical support, and a traveling position substantially parallel to andabove said boom means; and selectively operable motor means for rotatingsaid support means between said supporting position and said travelingposition.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 further including means fortilting said boom means to various angles of inclination with respect tohorizontal.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said selectivelyoperable means includes a hydraulic rotator fixed to said boom means andcoupled to said support means.
 8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein saidcarriage means comprises an upper carriage and a lower carriage, saidupper carriage being suspended underneath said boom means and said lowercarriage being suspended underneath said upper carriage.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 8 further including first motor means for moving saidcarriage means longitudinally along said boom means, and lower motormeans for moving said second carriage transversely of said uppercarriage and said boom means.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein saidfirst motor means includes a hydraulic cylinder having one end coupledto said carriage means and its other end coupled adjacent to said oneend of said boom means, and said second motor means includes a hydrauliccylinder having one end coupled to said lower carriage and its other endcoupled to said upper carriage.
 11. The apparatus of claim 8 furtherincluding first roller and track means for suspending said uppercarriage underneath said boom means, and second roller and track meansfor suspending said lower carriage underneath said upper carriage.